Background

Pet owners rarely expect their puppy to have a major medical problem, however, growing dogs - especially large breeds - are very susceptible to issues. Hunter, a Great Dane embraced by Joy D. of Ventura, CA, and his family were in the process of moving across the country when he started showing signs of Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD) of the Shoulder. Surgery was required and exploring his new home would have have to wait until he completed rehab.

Joy tells Hunter's story:

"On the second day of our week long road trip across the country, from Maryland to California – our new home – Hunter started to exhibit a pronounced limp in his right foreleg. As he was not quite seven months old, we suspected that he had been playing too rough with his 2 year old half-sister, Scout, a Great Dane as well. As the days passed, his limp became even more severe and we knew that something serious was wrong. We arrived in Ventura, CA late on a Thursday evening and quickly arranged for Hunter to be seen by a veterinarian first thing Friday morning. We were not very familiar with our new home yet, but during the next few months, we became well-acquainted with the local veterinary community.

Our worst fears were confirmed Friday morning after Hunter had his shoulders x-rayed – bilateral shoulder OCD. We were devastated – this otherwise happy and active puppy was going to need to undergo major surgery and then three months of sedentary rehabilitation. It is very hard to keep a puppy ‘quiet’ for that length of time. Plus, we had just moved to a new area and were looking forward to exploring all that it had to offer with both Hunter and Scout.

On October 3rd, 2012, Dr. Holsworth, Hunter’s surgeon at Veterinary Medical & Surgery Group (VMSG) performed arthroscopic shoulder surgery to remove OCD flaps/lesions in both Hunter’s right and left shoulders. After three months of intensive rehabilitation, Hunter was given the ‘green light’ on December 18th, 2012 to resume all normal activities that a 10 month old puppy should be allowed to do.

Today, Hunter is enjoying all that Ventura, CA (a beautiful beachside community just 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles) has to offer – running on the many beaches just minutes from home, chasing the waves, going to the local dog park, hiking up in the mountains, and sunbathing in the backyard most afternoons.

Throughout these challenging few months, Embrace was wonderful – responding quickly to the surgery pre-approval as well as reimbursing us the full 80% of the total cost of the surgery, which was not a small bill. Having Embrace since 2010 has given us the peace of mind that when unexpected health problems arise with our pets, we are able to concentrate on helping our pets get better, rather than worrying about the financial burden that these costly procedures could inflict upon us."